Dec. 16: Angel for an Evening

Philip Stover and Father Charles Ehrenbach were strangers stranded at the Philadelphia Airport because of a blizzard-related delay in their flight to Albany, New York.

Stover noticed that the elderly priest looked confused.  He asked if he needed help, discovered they were on the same flight, and the two men began a friendly conversation.

Once the plane took off and they arrived in Albany, Father Fehrenbach was stranded because his ride never showed up.  Stover drove him to the hotel where the priest was scheduled to lead a retreat.  After dropping him off, the shy Stover departed without saying good-bye.

A year later, Stover received a letter from Father Ehrenbach who said he believed his helper was an actual angel until he found his business card.  Writing in Catholic Digest, Stover says the experience taught him that “we each have all it takes within us to become [God’s] angel for an evening.”

Reach out to someone in fellowship and you might find that you too can be “an angel for an evening.”

Show hospitality.  (Hebrews 13:2)

Lord, may we always give thanks for earthly angels.